Angel

ANGEL

ANGEL

By
Morticia
46- 48/60
 
Part 46

TOM
I came to with
a start, sitting up so quickly that the various members of my father’s crew
who were hovering over my bed leapt back in astonishment.
"Where are
we?" I gasped
"You’re on
the USS HPTS, Tom, we’re taking you back to Earth" a voice soothed

"I mean where
the FUCK are we in space you moron? And what the hell kind of name is HPTS anyway?"
I snapped, swinging my legs off the bed and jumping to my feet. I swayed a little,
admittedly, but I was so infused with my new enthusiasm that I wasn’t going
to let a little dizziness put me off.
The ensign gaped
at me, opening and closing his mouth wordlessly in surprise at my apparent return
from the dead.
"Okay,"
I said "Just tell me how far we are from Deep Space 9"

"Um, well,
that is we are about 12 hours away at warp 6" the ensign muttered

I was momentarily
surprised by the answer and then I realised that we had taken a roughly parallel
course with Voyager, only at a slight tangent since we were aiming directly
for Earth, therefore if we turned around now we would arrive only a few hours
behind her.
"Take me
to the bridge" I ordered, and the young ensign blanched but responded automatically
to an order from a Paris and led me meekly to the bridge.
As I emerged from
the turbolift, the entire bridge crew did a double take.
"Lieutenant
Paris," the Captain acknowledged after he had managed to close his jaw
"I had been informed that you were – um -‘indisposed’"

"The reports
of my imminent demise were no doubt greatly exaggerated, Captain" I grinned
"Tell me, what did the Admiral say when you reported my illness?"

The stocky Captain
turned puce. " Well, ahem, well we, that is I didn’t, well I"

"Didn’t tell
him" I finished smoothly.
I had been banking
on the fact that the crew would haven ten too terrified to let my father know
I was so ill. Since this was my father’s private yacht it would be crewed by
low-ranking subordinates who couldn’t get posted onto proper military vessels.
I was sure that even the Captain would be easy to intimidate.
"Well, ahem,
No, but then it’s just as well isn’t it? I mean since you look so hale and hearty
now!" The Captain said with a weak smile
Since I knew that
I still looked and felt like an animated skeleton I had to admire his nerve.

"I don’t
want to cause you undue concern, Captain but my ‘indisposition’ was a symptom
of an ongoing condition. It appears that I left my medication on Voyager in
my haste to depart. Unless we head for DS9 now, I’m sure that a relapse will
be inevitable" I lied
"But my orders
are to escort you to Earth without delay" he spluttered
"Not much
point delivering a corpse, Captain. I don’t think that my father would be very
pleased. I’m sorry to inconvenience you but we will simply have to turn around
and go to DS9. I’m sure you wouldn’t want to have to explain to my father that
you were only 12 hours away from fetching my medicine and you didn’t do it."

"Nobody told
me you were ‘medically’ ill" The Captain muttered furiously

"What do
you expect after all these years in the Delta Quadrant? Of course we all picked
up some viruses. In fact, come to think of it, it would probably be a good idea or aor all of your crew to get immunized. Who knows what I might transmit to you
in the next few days, in fact, you could all be infected now. I must admit you
look a little feverish, Captain."
The Captain mopped
at his brow, which had definitely begun to glisten as my words sank in.

"Delta Quadrant
viruses, hey?" he muttered nervously
"No natural
immunity, Captain, it’s amazing any of us survived as long as we did. Of course
we had a sickbay. As I understand, there isn’t a doctor on the USS HPTS is there?"
I asked smiling sweetly
"Ensign J’harm’n,
set course for DS9, Warp 8" The Captain snapped, looking at me as though
I carried the plague.
With a wide grin
of thanks I offered my hand to the Captain, he pretended not to see it and shuffled
back a few paces until he was out of my reach.
"Perhaps
I should return to my quarters until we arrive." I murmured

"Yes, yes
lad, do that, have a lie down, leave us to get you to DS9" the Captain
muttered, desperate to get me off the bridge.
"Thank you,
Sir, you won’t regret this" I said blithely.
At least not until
my father found out, I thought, with a pang of guilt, but then again, they would
hardly have turned around if I had told them the truth, would they?

  

CHAKOTAY
 

It took hours
for the crew to disembark from Voyager. One by one we were processed through
a petty bureaucratical system of identification, debriefing and assignment of
temporary quarters.
Surprisingly,
the notification of the Maquis crewmembers’ pardons turned out to be true, even
if the Starfleet officials assigned to the task gave them to us with an attitude
of great reluctan

Personally I was
initially treated with a modicum of respect but as soon as I made it clear that
I had no intention of remaining in Starfleet, I found myself unceremoniously
dumped in the queue with the rest of the crew.
I noticed that
Kathryn and Tuvok were swept past the queue a p a pair of visiting dignitaries,
and taken to a no doubt rapturous heroes welcome. The rest of us were processed
lik man many illegal immigrants, our belongings searched and samples of our
DNA taken for identification.
It was a sobering
experience.
I was glad that
I was there to keep the tempers of the crew in check as we went through this
humiliating process and I was furious that Kathryn had abandoned us to the wolves
without even a backwards glance.
I saw Neelix hustled
away by some officials and was concerned enough to try and follow but two grim
security guards preed med me following and I was too aware of my role as protector
of the others to risk an incident right then.
Even the original
Starfleet crew were forced through a ritual of reaffirming their original loyalties
and pledging their ongoing allegiance to Starfleet before they were allowed
to pass onto the station.
Despite my intense
sorrow at the deaths of B’Elanna and Seven, I was glad that they were spared
the harrowing ordeal. B’Elanna’s temper and Seven’s insecurity would not have
coped well with the situation.
In my capacity
as leader, I felt constrained to wait until every last member of Voyager’s crew
had been released before venturing onto DS9 to find Angel, who had been passed
through freely as soon as we disembarked.
The atmosphere
on the other side of the docking bay doors was so different that it was overwhelming.
The promenade was thronged with welcoming civilians. Dozens of Bajorans had
come aboard to specifically welcome the ex-Maquis. Even the military personal
wore huge smiles and were friendly and helpful.
Of course, the
presence of several news crews with live vid-cams probably had a lot to do with
the change in attitude from the officials.
Despite the petty
way in which Starfleet had taken the private opportunity to humiliate us, public
opinion on the heroic return of Voyager had obviously tied their hands. My crew
was therefore safe. Which meant I could now depart for Earth.
"Commander
Chakotay! What an honor to meet you again!"
I spun in surprise
at the familiar sarcastic voice and my heart sank.
"Commodore
Benson." I acknowledged tightly
"Well as
I live and breathe, I never expected to see you in a Starfleet uniform again,
Chakotay, not after the way you left us, must be hard to find good crew in the
Delta Quadrant."
Since I clearly
remembered removing two of his front teeth during my resignation speech, I thought
his comment was pretty mild
"I see that
orthodontists have been doing a cracking trade in my absence," I said mildly

"If I had
my way you’d" Benson started only to jump as a news-cam got thrust in his
face, "You’d get a medal, Commander" he ad-libbed furiously and I
had to smile. He had always been quick on his feet. After all, on our last meeting
I had been intending to punch him in the nose as I recalled.
"You’re too
kind, Commodore" I replied smoothly "I can’t wait for the opportunity
to catch up with where we left off!" and I turned away towards the promenade.

It took forever
to wend my way through the throng. Over and over I had my hands grabbed and
shaken as various members of my old crew dragged their families to greet me.
It was unbelievable how many people had managed to arrive in time to meet us.
Though to be honest, most of the Maquis originated from nearby worlds in the
DM zone. Most of the Starfleet crewmembers would have to wait several more days
to be reunited with their families
Which of course
reminded me that Tom was already more than halfway to Earth by now. I was frantic
to catch him before he actually reached Earth. Once his father had him in his
clutches, who knew when I might see him again?
Unless we departed
immediately I knew there was no chance of doing so, but I couldn’t find Angel
anywhere. There was no point in taking any other ship since only Angel’s was
fast enough for us to get a chance to catch up with the USS HPTS.

After several
fruitless hours, I finally gave up my search and went to the temporary quarters
that had been assigned to me. I took a shower and changed into civilian clothes.

At last Angel
arrived, looking flustered and angry.
"Where the
fuck have you been?" I snapped by way of greeting
He just blinked
at my tone and sat down on the edge of the bed.
"They won’t
let us depart yet!" He griped "I’ve spent the last six hours trying
to get my ship released from Voyager’s shuttle bay but they won’t have it."

"Bastards,
I’ll sort it out…" I growled, heading for the comm unit
Angel restrained
me with a gentle hand on my arm.
"Don’t Chak.
I’ve finally managed to get them to talk reasonably to me. They are trying to
resolve the problem. If you go in guns blazing you’ll just put their backs up."

"So when
WILL they release your ship?"
"Reading
between the lines, I think they are just making sure that you attend the party
tonight. It would be bad publicity for them if you raced off before the "Welcome
Home" speech. Since it’s being broadcast live!" Angel grinned wryly

"What bloody
party?"
"The whole
crew are going to be in a place called "Quarks", only I gather it
isn’t really big enough so they’ve spent the last three days knocking down walls."
Angel laughed "They don’t want the guest of honor escaping after all their
effort."
"The guest
of honor will be Kathryn Janeway. The only reason they want me there is to parade
on her leash, so she can say ‘Look at my tamed Maquis wolf! Aren’t I clever!’"

"I thought
you liked the Captain." Angel murmured in surprise
"Oddly enough,
I did once." I replied "But either she’s changed or I never really
saw her clearly before."
"So you’ll
attend the party?"
"I don’t
seem to have any choice, do I?"
"Better get
dressed then."
"I am dressed"

"I meant
in your uniform, Chakotay."
"I don’t
have a uniform, Angel. We’re home."
"But I –
I thought they’d offered to re-instate your commission." Angel said in
bewilderment
I looked at him
suspiciously. How the hell had he known?
"I declined,
only I didn’t know it was general knowledge" I replied shortly, as a little
voice in my head began to insistently whisper that maybe the source of Angel’s
information was the same person who had conveniently impounded his ship.

"Oh, someone
mentioned it when I was trying to get my ship released" Angel replied,
flushing slightly.
"We are going
after Tom" I stated firmly, watching his face closely for his response.

"Of course
we are, Chakotay" Angel replied with such innocent surprise that I felt
ashamed of my doubts.
"Let’s go
to this bloody party, then. The sooner we get there, the faster we’ll be able
to escape" I said firmly
"Sure, Chak.
All you have to do is look relaxed and happy, and glad to be back. I’m sure
they’ll let us leave as soon as the speeches are over" Angel replied soothingly.

As I followed
him to "Quark’s" I knew that he was probably right, however, as I
figured it, there was now no way in hell to catch up with Tom before he disembarked.
I was not naïve enough to imagine that it was co-incidence, however it was probably
completely unfair of me to blame Angel.
It was more likely
that Admiral Owen Paris had engineered the delay, probably assisted by Kathryn
and Tuvok.
If only my father’s
advice had been more practical. It was all very well him telling me that Tom
was my soulmate. It would have been a hell of a lot more helpful if he had told
me how to do something about it.
 

TOM
 

It was only as
we got within communications range of DS9 that I realised that my plan had far
too many holes in it.
All it would take
would be a message from the Captain of the USS HPTS to the officials on DS9
and he would discover that the only medical condition that I suffered from was
a broken heart.
Somehow I had
to beam myself onto DS9 before he spoke to security. I was uncertain how well
DS9 was protected but in view of the recent War with the Dominion, I was sure
that an unauthorized transport would be impossible.
My only hope of
getting off my father’s ship and onto DS9 without being immediately apprehended
was if I had help from inside. My old friend Julian Bashir was posted as a doctor
there. It would seem perfectly natural for me to put in a call to DS9’s Sickbay
and perhaps my call would convince the Captain that my story was genuine. At
least for long enough for me to beam off. I knew that the panic I had inspired
in him about the mythical virus would mean he would soon be contacting officials
to inquire about immunizations and then my deception would be revealed.

I called the bridge
from my Conn. unit and requested a person to person communication with Doctor
Bashir.
"Of course,
Lieutenant" The Captain replied "Um, are you feeling unwell again?"

"I think
that it would be a good idea, for the safety of your crew, if I was beamed direct
to DS9’s Sickbay." I replied smoothly, "Just to be on the safe side"

"Oh, of course,
I’ll contact DS9 immediately"
"It’s better
if I speak to Dr Bashir myself, he’ll need to know my symptoms so he can prepare."

I held my breath
as I waited for the Captain’s reply.
"I’ll put
the call straight through to your Conn unit then" He finally decided.

A few minutes
later Julian’s surprised face filled the screen.
"Tom Paris!
My god. You look like death warmed over!" he spluttered
"Thanks,
Jules. I love you too!" I grinned
"What are
you doing here? I was told you had gone straight home."
"It’s a long
story. I need a favour Jules, a huge one."
"Anything"
he replied generously
"You need
to authorise me beaming aboard as a medical emergency"
"Well, that
wouldn’t be hard to pull off since you look dead already" Julian laughed
gently but his brown eyes were filled with genuine concern.
"Only there’ll
be people coming after me almost immediately, I think. I need to get away from
sickbay as soon as possible and I’ll need you to pretend I’m still there for
as long as you can manage it."
"What have
you done this time, Tom?" Julian asked sadly
"I’ve fallen
in love with someone."
"Well that’s
not a crime!" He spluttered in surprise
"That’s what
YOU think, Jules and if I don’t get to him now, I might lose him forever."

"Him?"
Jules asked in astonishment and then a wry grin crept over his face "Hell,
Tom, if I’d known you were into guys I’d have snapped you up myself back in
the academy!"
"Will you
help me?"
"Will I get
court martialled for this?"
"Probably"

He looked at me
pensively for a few minutes and then grinned
"Shit, won’t
be the first time. Okay Tom, I’ll set it up. Get to the transporter room."

"Oh, Jules,
find out where Chakotay is for me so I can hit the ground running."

"Chakotay?
The big Maquis with the gorgeous ass?"
"Yeah, and
it’s my ass, Jules, so hands off" I grinned back
Julian smirked
wickedly and switched off.
As I made my painful
way to the transporter room I realised that "hit the ground limping"
would be a more apt description.

 

Part 47

 

CHAKOTAY
The whole crew
of Voyager seemed to be crammed into "Quarks" along with the staff of DS9, several
news crews and seemingly half of the population of the de-militarized zone.
Angel kept tightly
to my side as we pushed through the throng and I was aware of the benefits of
his large presence, even as I was feeling increasingly uncomfortable with the
possessive way he kept an arm slung around my shoulders.
When we finally
reached the podium at the front of the crowd, where Janeway and Tuvok were holding
court in front of several Starfleet Officials and an adoring audience, I turned
to Angel and hissed at him to let go of me.
He ignored me,
if anything squeezing me tighter to his powerful body.
"We have to look
happy and relaxed together, Chak" He whispered quietly, "If they realise that
you intend to go chasing after Tom, who knows when I’ll get my ship back?"
"So I’m supposed
to let you cuddle me all evening to make everybody think I’m enough of a bastard
to have forgotten him already?" I snarled incredulously
"That’s not very
kind of you, Chakotay." Angel replied sadly "I don’t deserve your abuse. You
have no idea how painful this is for me, pretending everything is all right
between us when I know you can’t wait to get back to Tom."
I was ashamed
of myself. Angel was right. This had to be far more painful for him than it
was for me. HE was the victim in this, not me.
"I’m sorry" I
murmured "You’re right. I AM grateful"
"Then let’s get
this show on the road" Angel replied and swinging me around to face him he gave
me a huge kiss, right in front of the entire crowd.
I was torn between
the urge to push him away and the knowledge that we were being watched, and
to be honest, there was also a part of me that responded to him. I may have
decided in my head and heart that my future lay with Tom, but the rest of my
body hadn't quite caught up with the realisation yet.
So I let the kiss
continue until my heart was racing and my knees were weak and my erection was
burrowing into Angel’s thigh and all I could think was how much I was going
to miss him, although not one part of me regretted the choice that I had made.
I kissed him in
the knowledge that our relationship was over and I would never touch him again.
Unfortunately only a telepath would have been aware of my thoughts, since my
actions were so contrary.
I slowly became
aware of the sudden and complete silence in the crowded room. Thinking that
we were the focus of the attention, I pushed Angel away in embarrassment and
looked sheepishly at the Captain.
She wasn’t looking
at me, however. Her face had gone quite pale with shock and she was looking
down the room towards the door. The whole crowd had turned to follow her shocked
gaze and had formed a natural parting in the room through which I could clearly
see the cause of the silence.
I staggered in
confusion. In the doorway of Quarks stood Tom.
Unbelievably he
was even thinner. He swayed like a skeleton in the doorway, his eyes burning
brightly with an insane fury, his cheeks stained red with passion in a horrible
contrast to his white face.
"You bastard!"
He hissed quietly, but in the deadly quiet room it sounded like a shout.
I could feel the
panic overwhelming me as I realised that he had obviously, unbelievably, come
back for me, only to find me in Angel’s arms again. I wanted the ground to open
up and swallow me.
He began to limp
up the room towards me, the crowd opening up to allow his passage, their faces
bright with gleeful anticipation.
"Tom – I – " I
said, trying desperately to find the words to explain my behavior
"SHUT THE FUCK
UP, CHAK" Tom snapped at me and I froze in confusion as he walked right past
my pleading outstretched hands and up to Angel.
"You BASTARD!"
Tom howled and with a strength and fury that belied his skeletal frame he swung
a roundhouse punch straight into Angel’s jaw.
As Angel collapsed
to his knees in agony, I grabbed at Tom but he shook my hands off with a quick
furious twist of his bony shoulders
"Tom!" I begged,
only to stop in confusion as he flashed his furious face in my direction.

"I told you to
shut the fuck up, didn’t I?" He snarled at me, his pupils so huge that his eyes
were an almost solid black.
For a moment I
actually believed that it wasn’t Tom in front of me, it was some vengeful spirit,
and yet it WAS Tom too. I actually felt reality shifting around me and for a
moment I was back in the clearing in my dream forest, watching the beating wings
of a fierce raptor as it swooped down on its prey and then I shook my head and
was back in Quarks and it was just Tom who was beating his fists against Angel’s
head as he cowered on the floor.
Firmly this time
I grabbed Tom’s shoulders and pulled him tightly back against me. For a second
he struggled with an almost super-human strength and then he sagged bonelessly
in my arms.
As a couple of
people rushed to help Angel to his feet, I could feel Tom’s heart pounding furiously
in his emaciated frame, my heart was thumping in sympathetic rhythm.
Angel wiped at
his split lip with the back of his hand, and looked warily at Tom but hovered
safely out of reach.
"What the hell
do you think you are doing, Lieutenant?" Kathryn’s voice rang out over the crowd
as she marched towards us, her diminutive frame actually quivering in fury.
It was only as
she came face to face with Tom that she remembered the whirling cameras that
were filming the whole scenario.
"You are supposed
to be on your way to Earth, Tom. " She said in a kinder voice, "to a hospital
where the doctors can make you feel better" she added for the benefit of the
audience and all around me I heard murmurs as people decided that Tom was obviously
mad.
I stiffened in
fury but before I could speak, Tom replied in a dry humorous voice.
"I forgot something"

Kathryn smiled
sweetly for the cameras
"What did you
forget Tom?" she asked in the tone of voice that she normally reserved for Naomi.
"My husband!"
He snapped
"Chakotay is not
your husband, Tom, you’re very confused right now, why don’t we go and discuss
this somewhere quieter?" She said kindly, frantically signaling behier ber back
for help.
I was already
speechless, and when Tom suddenly snarled "Say I do" I just gulped in confusion
so he swung his bony elbow fiercly into my gut.
"Say I do" He
demanded again and as I gasped for breath I finally understood what he was saying
"I DO," I shouted
out and the crowd milled in confusion but Kathryn’s bright eyes flashed in sudden
understanding
"Too late" she
hissed as Tuvok approached with Commodore Benson and a couple of large security
guards.
"No it’s not,
Captain" Harry piped up out of nowhere, "The ceremony was complete except for
those two words. Now he’s said them in front of you and everyone. They’re married."
He said bravely "oh and congratulations" he said to us over his shoulder as
he moved in between the advancing guards and us.
"Ensign, get out
of the way. Lieutenant Paris is obviously ill; we are just trying to get him
the help he needs. Don’t ruin your own career."
As the guards
began to push Harry out of the way, Tom sagged in my arms, having evidently
achieved what he wanted; he lost his battle against his exhaustion.
Realising that
we would have to fight our way out of the room, I thrust Tom into Angel’s arms
"Quick, Angel,
get him out of here" I begged
Angel swung Tom’s
limp body up easily into his arms and met my eyes sadly and in that instant
I knew what he meant to do.
"NOOOOO" I yelled
and jumped forwards, but too late. Angel moved quickly behind Kathryn and Harry
and handed Tom to Tuvok before turning back to meet me.
"I’m sorry Chak."
He murmured
"You FUCKER" I
screamed and the roundhouse that I gave him didn’t just put him on his knees,
it knocked him to the floor unconscious.
All around me
I could see my old Maquis crew rallying to my help. Harry had been knocked to
the floor by one of the security guards so had taken the opportunity to wrap
himself around Tuvok’s ankles. The Vulcan was trying to hold Tom in one hand
and batter Harry off with the other.
I ran forwards
to help him only to be knocked to my knees by a blow to my temple. I looked
up in a daze and saw my attacker was Benson.
"I’ve waited a
long time to do that!" He hissed with a vicious grin and kicked savagely at
my ribs.
I grabbed his
foot before it connected and yanked. He landed with a crash on his butt, howling
with such pain that I figured he had fractured his coccyx.
"Yeah? Well I’ve
waited a long time for this!" I smirked and punched him in the face. As his
nose broke, my face was splattered with blood and I licked at the coppery taste.
It seemed to awake some primal instinct in me.
I leapt to my
feet with a howl and launched myself at Tuvok. Harry was still hanging on for
grim death and my Maquis had stopped any more guards coming to Tuvok’s rescue.
The density of the crowd was preventing re-enforcements from being beamed in.
I hadn’t the faintest
idea of how Tom and I could get away, but at that moment, all I could think
about was getting Tom back into my own arms.
I wrestled with
Tuvok for Tom’s unconscious body. His strong Vulcan arms refused to let Tom
go.
"I am stronger
than you Commander" Tuvok said unemotionally "you can’t beat me in a fight."
He was right;
I couldn’t beat him in a fair fight. So, I stopped trying to wrestle him for
Tom and broke his nose instead.
Tuvok gave a decent
impression of emotion as he dropped Tom and howled in agony.
Grabbing Tom before
he hit the floor I turned like a cornered animal and sought desperately for
an avenue of escape. It was hopeless. I was completely surrounded by two hundred
people having an all out battle amongst themselves.
As I hesitated,
I was almost knocked to my knees as a furious body hurled itself onto my back,
kicking and punching. A hand grabbed my hair and pulled sharply then snaked
around my head to gouge at my eyes.
I had no option
but to drop Tom and struggle with my attacker. Reaching my hand around my back
I hauled the figure off, only to let it go in amazement. It was Kathryn.
She reached for
her phaser and I chopped at her hand viciously, knocking the phaser to the floor.
"Get out of my
way, Captain" I hissed
"NO" She spat.
I raised my hand
but she barely flinched
"I know you too
well, Chakotay. You’d NEVER hit a woman!" She spat in triumph.
She was right;
of course, I had never even struck Seska. Of course I had killed women, when
there had been no other choice, but actually punching one was against everything
I believed in
"Give it up, Chakotay.
There’s nowhere to run!" She smiled smugly.
So I hit her.
And actually,
it felt pretty good after all.
I stepped over
her unconscious body and reached down for Tom. The fall had woken him up and
he was looking around in dazed sorrow as the hopelessness of our situation sank
in. I gathered him into my arms and hugged him to me in eye eye of the storm.
The fighting was
beginning to peter out; DS9 security was starting to break through the crowds.
We only had seconds before we were ripped apart, me to a jail, Tom to a mental
hospital.
"I’m so sorry
babe" I whispered
"Shush." He replied,
"I love you, we’re together. Nothing else matters."
That’s when he
handed me the knife.
I looked down
in disbelief at the long ceremonial blade.
"How the hell
did you get this?" I gasped
"It doesn’t matter,
Chak. Nothing matters. Just us. Together. Forever."
I looked into
his tear-filled eyes and I nodded.
"Just us. Forever,
my beloved" I whispered and pulled him tightly towards me so that our hearts
were beating together and pulled my arm back to strike the blow.
I heard screams
from the crowd, as they understood my intention and a pounding of feet as the
security guards raced through.
"Goodbye my chiya"
I whispered
And twas was when
I felt the transporter beam catch us both and we materialised in Angel’s ship
in front of the grinning eyes of Neelix and the Doctor.
Their smiles faltered
at the sight of the knife. I let it clatter to the floor and pushed Tom into
a seat.
"Wha-?" he said
in blinking confusion. He had closed his eyes in anticipation of the knife’s
blow and was completely disorientated by our miracle escape.
"Later babe,"
I murmured "We’ve got to get the fuck out of here first."
"I started her
up" Neelix said " But I couldn’t figure out how to get the cargo bay doors open"
"That’s easy"
I replied, and raising shields I launched a torpedo which blasted us a hole
right out into space
"Let’s blow this
joint" Tom urged
I was unfamiliar
with the phrase, but looking into my husband’s grinning face I had little doubt
of his meaning.
"Sure, Babe, anything
you say." I grinned back and engaged forward thrusters.

 

Part 48 

 

Jacqueline Paris
When Owen told
us the news of Voyager’s return it was as though a light was suddenly switched
on in our dreary gloomy house. A light that had been dimmed for years.

I had never truly
forgiven Owen for the way he arbitrarily dismissed Tom from our house and from
our lives. For the sake of the girls I had outwardly supported the decision,
I understood that Owen was concerned that their own budding Starfleet careers
would be tarnished by Tom’s misdemeanors and that would have been so unfair
to Elisabeth and Jeanette.
The girls had
always been the epitome of good behavior. Their complacent obedience had always
cast Tom’s reckless spirit deeper into the shadows. We had three beautiful children,
blonde blue-eyed angels, but sometimes it seemed that the very devil himself
was in Tom.
Only, to be honest,
Tom had always been the favourite of my children. I always preferred his lack
of reverence, his joi de vivre, and his impish naughtiness. Tom wasn’t BAD;
he just couldn’t manage to be GOOD. On so many occasions he tried so hard for
Owen’s approval, but he always failed to live up to my husband’s standards in
some crucial way, and eventually, unsurprisingly, he stopped trying.

And deep inside
myself, where I still jealously hoarded memories of my own wild and flighty
childhood before I had married a Paris and learnt the terrible weight of respectability,
I cheered and applauded his defiance. His refusal to become a bland imitation
of his father brought Tom heartache and sadness, but I saw it as a strength
that was lacking in the girls, and in me by that time, to be honest.

Owen paraded we
three women in public like Dresden dolls, perfectly groomed, and perfectly behaved.
Tom was never invited to those events. Owen had long given up on Tom as an asset
to his political ambition, years before the accident at Caldik Prime.

Even after Tom
was thrown out of our lives, we all kowtowed to the Paris commandment "Thou
shalt not disappoint the Admiral". It was not until Tom was caught flying
for the Maquis and imprisoned that the sparks of defiance finally caught flame
in my heart.
I couldn’t believe
that Owen would stand by and let our only son be condemned as a criminal and
sent to Auckland, especially since I knew that Owen had a secret sympathy for
the Maquis cause. I begged and pleaded with him for compassion but he was as
unmovable as stone.
I actually hated
him then. I had never approved of his treatment of Tom but never had the bravery
to defy him before. Hatred gave me the courage.
It took many months
of maneuvering, and the help of both Elisabeth and Jeanette, who were both working
at Starfleet HQ by then, before I managed to bypass Owen’s own security and
I made contact with Kathryn Janeway.
Jeanette had told
me of a Maquis ship that had been lost in the badlands with an undercover operative
on board. She had learnt of the plan to send a prototype starship after the
missing vessel and that Kathryn was to be given the Captaincy.
Kathryn and I
had become acquainted when she had served with Owen on the Al Betani. I had
needed her support and understanding after Owen’s experiences with the Cardassians.
He had come home bitter and disillusioned with Starfleet. He had objected strenuously
to the Treaty agreement and had privately applauded the Maquis.

It was my suggestion
that Tom should be used to help find the missing ship. Kathryn was unreceptive
to the suggestion. I think she realised that I didn’t truly believe that Tom
could help her, that I just wanted to get him out of that prison. But, to my
surprise, Tom was assigned to Voyager and left for the badlands.

When Voyager was
immediately lost with all hands I had been devastated. I had been too shell-shocked
by the terrible news to grasp the fact that Owen had also been destroyed by
Tom’s death. We both blundered around the house like pale ghosts for months,
barely acknowledging each other’s presence, rarely speaking, never sharing our
pain.
Then we received
news that Voyager had survived but that she was in the Delta Quadrant and wouldn’t
return in our lifetime. I was overjoyed, not only by the fact that Tom had survived
but also by the knowledge that he would never again be jailed. Whatever dangers
he might face out there, he was free and that was something worth celebrating.

So Jeanette, Elisabeth
and I shared a rapturous, drunken evening exchanging tales and anecdotes of
Tom, laughing and crying, both celebrating his freedom and mourning his loss.

When Owen had
finally come home and walked in on us, his face was a picture of outrage. He
had hurled abuse at our behavior and in our giddy grief we had just laughed
at him. And instead of erupting in his usual fury, he had sunk down on a chair
and cried, collapsing in on himself like a deflated balloon and he finally confessed
to us that it had been HIS decision that had put Tom on Voyager. It turned out
that Kathryn had gone straight from me and told him everything, only instead
of him forbidding Tom’s ‘escape’ as she had obviously expected, he had ordered
that it be so.
Looking back,
I realise that Owen must have been regretting his treatment of Tom for years.
Age had mellowed him. He regretted his harsh disciplinarian treatment of Tom,
his rigid unyielding pressure that had so terrified our son that he had lied
about a simple accident and in doing so had ruined his own life.

And life went
on.
Jeanette found
a defiance of her own. She willfully became pregnant by some fly-by-night and
then left Starfleet to become a fulltime mother to a boy she called little Tommy.
She refused to back-down to Owen’s anger about the way that she threw her career
away.
When she point-blank
asked him whether he intended to throw her out too, he accepted her choice without
a further murmur and then treated Tommy with a doting affection that was alien
to our expectations. Little Tommy was as boisterous as his namesake but Owen
was a changed man and he simply laughed at antics that would have earned our
Tom a whipping.
Elisabeth married
and had two children, but she stayed in Starfleet and joined her father in his
efforts to find a way home for Voyager. He became a liaison for all of the families
of the lost crew, both Maquis and Starfleet. In our grief we all became closer.
The loss of Tom bound us tightly together so that we became a real family for
the first time ever.
Each Christmas
the house rang with the gleeful shouts of Little Tommy and his cousins, Sarah
and Jonah, but under the tree there would always be an untouched pile of presents
for Tom which grew year by year as a testament to hope.
One day he would
return. One day he would walk through the door and seeing that ever growing
pile of dust covered boxes he would finally know that we loved him and that
we were sorry.
The years passed
in a grey blur. Owen visibly aged, as his quest to rescue Voyager bore no fruit.
His political ambitions were shelved as he learnt far too late that nothing
was more important than family. For myself, I helped Jeanette look after the
children, retired from public life and attempted as normal an existence as possible.
But at least once a week I would go into the room where Tom’s unopened presents
lay and I would allow myself to privately grieve.
I don’t think
any of us realised how sad and soulless our house had become until Owen announced
the news that Voyager had returned. It was only the contrast of our elation
that made us understand that we had been merely sitting in a holding pattern
for years. It was as though time had stopped with Tom’s loss and his return
was like an electric shock that galvanized us back into life.
Owen had been
involved in the rescue attempt and had positioned a ship to collect Tom straight
off Voyager in the event that the operation was successful. He had kept his
plans to himself, unwilling to risk our hopes being dashed yet again. So the
news was a complete and wonderful surprise to us all.
Owen warned me
that he had received a message that Tom was unwell, suffering from some form
of depressive illness, but I refused to let the news dishearten me. The whole
family had been suffering from depression. Tom’s return had cured us, surely
our love would cure him, I thought with a kind of blind faith.
The next few days
were frantic with preparations as Tom’s old room was redecorated and aired.
All of the presents were dusted and piled in his room, and then added to endlessly
as Jeanette and Elisabeth raided the entire sector in an effort to find the
luxuries that Tom had been deprived of for so long.
We wanted his
return to be PERFECT. We wanted to erase years of hurt and neglect with fripperies.
It was crass, possibly, but it was the only way we knew how to show him physically
how much we had missed him.
Even Owen joined
us to watch the televisation of Voyager’s homecoming party at DS9. Of course
we knew that Tom was already halfway home, but we wanted to see the return of
his colleagues and friends. We felt that seeing the people who had been his
"family" for so many years would be a way of "touching"
Tom and would be a first step to understanding him.
We knew that he
had gained a position of respect and authority on Voyager. He was a lieutenant,
chief pilot, fourth in command. This was a Tom even Owen could finally be proud
of. But more than that, he was our little boy who had been lost and had now
been found again.
"That’s Kathryn"
Elisabeth breathed excitedly as the vid-cams played over the podium

I actually flinched
a little as I saw the haughty little Captain. As much as Voyager’s disappearance
had hurt me, I still couldn’t forgive her for telling Owen of my plan to get
Tom released.
"The Vulcan
next to her is Tuvok, the one who was undercover on the Maquis ship" Jeanette
explained to me
"Apparently
they are married to each other now!" Elisabeth giggled "I wonder which
one is Tom’s girlfriend?"
To my surprise
I saw Owen flush slightly and look uncomfortable. I had been married to him
for enough years to recognise his quickly hidden expression of distaste, besides
I may have never been the best of mothers, but I DID know my own son.

"I expect
Tom is more likely to have a boyfriend" I replied mildly
"MOTHER!"
Elisabeth screamed in shock as Owen coloured further and sank slightly into
his chair. Jeanette, on the other hand, met my eyes with a knowing grin.

"So who do
you think HE is?" She asked me slyly.
I looked carefully
at the vid-screen, weighing each of the faces in the crowd and then I shook
my head in defeat.
"I don’t
know." I confessed. To be honest, the one person who had caught my eye
had been a heavy-set bronze-skinned man with a strange tattoo over one eye.
There was something so solid and dependable about his handsome features that
I could actually imagine him as being Tom’s choice. However, since he was currently
being devoured in the embrace of some huge glorious blonde giant, he was evidently
not the one.
"WOW"
Jeanette breathed as she noticed the two men’s passionate kiss.

"Yuck!"
Elisabeth replied.
I had to smile.
Elisabeth was obviously spending FAR too much time with her straight-laced father.

"SHIT!"
Jeanette screamed
I blinked in astonishment
at her language and then was more amazed that Owen didn’t comment on it. He
just went pale as he looked at the screen. I followed his gaze and for a moment
my heart actually stopped. It was Tom.
He was so emaciated
he looked as though he had spent the last seven years in a Cardassian POW camp.
His skin was white as parchment but flushed with a feverish fury as he limped
painstakingly up the room towards the podium. I could feel the tears pouring
down my cheeks as I saw my beautiful son now reduced to a wounded skeleton.

Our living room
was deadly silent as we all watched agape as the events unfolded in a blur of
violence. We saw Tom attack the blond giant, sae ole older man restraining him
with a protective hug, heard Tom call ‘Chakotay’ his husband and Captain Janeway
say that Tom was mentally ill and then we watched in horror as the battle took
place.
It was only when
I saw Tom hand a knife to ‘Chakotay’, and I saw the older man nod and pull Tom
close that I began to scream and as I saw the blade plunging towards them I
fainted.
So I didn’t see
their ‘miraculous’ escape, I still don’t know for sure that the knife didn’t
actually pierce Tom before Chakotay realised they had been rescued.

Apparently, with
the help of an alien from the Delta Quadrant, Chakotay has stolen a ship and
Voyager’s EMH. It is the theft of the EMH that makes me believe that Tom was
definitely injured.
Reports from DS9
are sketchy at the moment. It appears that this ‘Chakotay’ was the leader of
the Maquis cell. He has been acting as First Officer on Voyager but Captain
Janeway is saying that she never trusted him, she only allowed him the position
in order to keep the rest of the Maquis tame.
The official ship’s
log states that Tom was paralyzed in an accident 18 months ago and spent most
of that time as a quadriplegic. Chakotay took advantage of his vulnerability,
completely taking over Tom’s care and in a classic case of the patient falling
in love with his doctor, Tom fell in love with the Maquis and was intending
to marry him, only Chakotay left him after he was cured.
Tuvok says that
the alien cure had unexpected side effects on Tom, making him suicidally depressed.

Owen is convinced
that Chakotay intended to use his marriage to Tom and Tom’s dependence on him
as a bargaining chip in case they returned to the Alpha Quadrant. The arrival
of "Angel" meant that Chakotay had no more need of Tom and the discovery
of how badly he had been used had made Tom’s mind snap, since he was already
affected by his ‘cure’.
Owen believes
that Chakotay is taking advantage of Tom’s illness. He is calling it kidnap.

But I don’t believe
it.
I saw the way
Tom and Chakotay looked at each other. The moment I saw the handsome Indian,
I KNEW he was someone that my Tom could love. Their bizarre attempted suicide
pact was the act of desperate lovers not a criminal and his victim.

So we are going
to DS9 on the fastest ship that Starfleet had within hailing range, the USS
Enterprise.
I have finally
put my foot down. I don’t care if the whole of Starfleet is up in arms and pursuing
the little craft. This is a FAMILY matter, this time I will not stand by and
let the wolves gather around my son and the man who he calls his husband.

Owen, Jeanette,
Elisabeth and myself are going to find Tom and we are going to finally bring
him home.
Go
to Part 49